16-Year-Old Mujey Dumbuya Was Found Dead

Three days after a trial date was set for 16-year-old Mujey Dumbuya to testify against her accused rapist in court, Mujey's parents reported her missing. On January 28, authorities found her body in a wooded area in Kalamazoo, Michigan, about 50 miles away from her home, near Grand Rapids, The New York Times reported. Police are investigating Mujey's death as a homicide.

According to WOOD-TV, Quinn was out on bail when Mujey went missing, and he was later arrested on February 1, accused of another, unrelated sexual crime from 2014, as reported by The New York Times. His lawyer, public defender Jonathan Schildgen, tells MLive.com that his client is being "unfairly treated" as a suspect in Mujey's death. Quinn is currently being held in a Kent County jail, with bail set at $500,000.

Mujey was 15 years old when the alleged sexual assault occurred, last summer. The New York Times reported that Quinn was a maintenance employee of Kentwood Public Schools. Mujey attended East Kentwood High School, which was eight miles away from where her alleged sexual assault took place. He was fired from his job in November after the district’s superintendent was made aware of the allegation against Quinn.

Mujey's family released the following statement: "We are heartbroken, devastated and overwhelmed with grief over the death of our beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece and cousin. Mujey was a generous, energetic young woman with a radiant smile and an adventurous spirit. Mujey was a very good student who loved school. She had a close circle of friends, and was loved by everyone that knew her. Mujey loved music and dancing. She took classes in dance, martial arts and archery. Mujey was looking forward to graduating from high school next year. She wanted to be a police officer to help fight against social injustice, including racism." Mujey was laid to rest on February 10.